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Men’s golf tees off at Northern Intercollegiate

September 8, 2012
Griffin Bauman

Griffin Bauman

The Northern Illinois men’s golf team opened its 2012-13 season on Saturday as it began play in the Northern Intercollegiate at Rich Harvest Farms.

Saturday’s 36-hole day of competition was suspended due to darkness with four groups yet to finish. As of the conclusion of play on Saturday, NIU was in 11th position with a total score of 620 (+65). Indiana holds the overall lead with a team score of 599 (+31) through Saturday’s play.

“We had a good weather day today, with the exception of wind,” said NIU head coach Tom Porten. “We hope to complete the 36-hole play tomorrow morning and finish the tournament on a high note. As far as the Huskies, it wasn’t very good execution with anything from 150 yards in. We couldn’t putt the ball at all today.

“We had very few birdies and too many mental and execution mistakes that caused us to make big numbers. We have to fix that, come out and play with purpose tomorrow morning.”

The Huskies found themselves in 10th-place following the first round of the day, posting a team score of 318. Defending champion Central Florida led the way through the opening 18 holes with a total of 301.

Senior Griffin Bauman (Crystal Lake, Ill.) posted the best score of the opening round for the Huskies, carding a four-over 75 to stand in a tie for 10th. Senior Kurtis Luedtke (Aurora, Ill./West) was just outside the top-20 as he fired an opening round 78 for NIU.

All but one player, senior Greg Pohlmann (Decatur, Ill./Lakeview/Iowa Western CC), has finished round two for the Huskies. Of those who have completed 36 holes, Bauman has posted the low score of 156 and is currently in a tie for 23rd.

Sophomore Nick Schiavi (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) has the second-lowest 36-hole total for the Huskies at 161.

Play will resume on Sunday morning at 7:27 a.m., with the completion of round two as well as the beginning of round three, using the same pairings and tee times as Saturday’s opening round.

For more information on NIU men’s golf and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.